Colorado wildfires threaten more homes
Kansas crew members observe the area as they help at the High Park fire in Larimer County, Colo., approximately 15 miles west of Fort Collins, by dropping water with their Bambi buckets in designated areas enforcing back burns and provide structure protection, June 19, 2012. Photo by Sgt. Ryan Kohlman, Company G, 2nd-135th General Support Aviation Battalion
Two large wildfires in Colorado strengthened yesterday and moved to threaten more homes and businesses. The High Park fire and the Waldo Canyon fire have now burned a combined total of 83,000 acres. Yesterday’s weather allowed both fires to expand significantly and force firefighters working the High Park fire to relocate.
High Park Fire
Yesterday’s weather saw a significant expansion of the High Park wildfire burning west of Fort Collins, Colorado. The fire has crossed the Poudre River Canyon and moved north. It continues to edge to the east and southeast. Both movements have reduced containment from 65 percent to 45 percent and placed more homes in the path of the fire. 191 homes are believed to have burned thus far, and 81,190 acres. The Horsetooth Reservoir to the southeast will prevent the fire’s movement in that direction. Some 2,000 firefighters are working this blaze.
View Larger Map
Waldo Canyon Fire
The Waldo Canyon wildfire began on Saturday, June 23. The fire has burned 2,000 acres in and around the Pike National Forest, three miles west of Colorado Springs. 400 firefighters are currently assigned. Evacuations have been ordered, including some in Colorado Springs and the city of Manitou Springs. The Air Force Academy is not immediately threatened by this fire.
Webcam pic of Waldo Canyon fire June 24, 2012, 10:45 local time. From Weatherbug.
View Larger Map
Table of contents for Waldo Canyon Fire
- Colorado wildfires threaten more homes
- Waldo Canyon Fire Burns into Colorado Springs
- Waldo Canyon Fire Information Resources
- Military Aids Waldo Canyon Fire Efforts
- Waldo Canyon Fire Forces Academy Moves
- Firefighters Gain Ground in Colorado Fire
- Colorado Springs Begins Fire Recovery
- Gains Made on Waldo Canyon Fire
- Academy firefighters recognized for Waldo Canyon Fire efforts
the attachments to this post:
7416781268_0e9fb074f0
Waldo_Canyon-06-24-2012-10-45am
This entry was posted on Sunday, June 24th, 2012 at 12:54 pm and is filed under Firefighting, Original writing, Original writing, Reporting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
gentlemen, here is a good resource i have used in the past. working with disater relief here in CO, it is nice to keep up with what is going on with these fires…
http://www.inciweb.org/state/announcements/6/
News reporting a new fire in Boulder county today (6/26) as well started by lightning…uhg
Chuck,
Two good sources to keep up with the wildfires here are KKTV Ch. 11 (https://www.facebook.com/kktv11news) and the Colorado Springs Gazette (https://www.facebook.com/springsgazette). They report on all the fires, but concentrate on the Waldo Canyon fire.
We had a brief fire in Cheyenne Canyon yesterday, but it was put out before it could spread. It’s just too dry! We also have a high-wind warning for about half the state today.
Chuck,
The High Point fire is one of TWO burning in the north. The other fire is near Estes Park, and started on Friday. The Waldo Canyon fire is now threatening to jump Hwy 24 and endanger Manitou Springs, Cascade, Chipita Park, and Green Mountain Falls. It’s grown beyond last night’s estimate of 2500 acres. Good news is that the Springer Fire, near Eleven Mile reservoir and Divide, is 100% contained, and personnel are being freed from it to fight the Waldo Canyon fire. There’s another major fire down northwest of Pagosa Springs, in the southern portion of the state, that’s burned about 500 acres.
The beginnings of both the Springer fire and the Waldo Canyon fire are considered suspicious. There have also been about 20 attempts to deliberately set additional fires along Hwy 24 from Florissant to Lake George. I’ll try to keep you up to date.
Mike